Reds should not walk alone after shock Jota loss

MY mind has been blown by the lack of understanding around grief and the impact it has had on the players of Premier League football club Liverpool.

- DARREN LEWIS

Before Sunday's 2-0 win over West Ham in London, they'd been suffering in plain sight. Grieving the death of their friend and teammate, Diogo Jota.

The three points they picked up in that game make no difference. They are still enduring a nightmare.

Portugal star Jota, 28, died with his brother Andre Silva in a car accident in July. Their passing sparked an avalanche of emotion for a footballer whose popularity had spread far beyond Merseyside.

And yet, once the Premier League season restarted in August, football expected the players and their manager, Arne Slot, to be over it.

Anyone who has ever suffered grief - especially a shock bereavement - will tell you that it doesn't quite work that way.

Some days you can be productive and operate on autopilot. Other days you simply can't get out of bed.

Some days you can smile and laugh and on others you might feel guilty for smiling and laughing. And yet, the expectation around these young men in their 20s and early 30s is that they could simply move on.